Argentina: Rolling the dice

Morgan Stanley and Aberdeen Investment Management are reported to have been buying defaulted Argentine bonds. They are hoping that President Nestor Kirchner will grant recalcitrant bondholders, who did not accept the 2005 refinancing offer a new deal. Such a move would relieve Argentina of lawsuits and allow it to return fully to the international debt markets. In current highly liquid markets, removing the blemish on its borrowing record could give it access to large amounts of new money. But f...